Jaaaaaaaack! Good gosh, Jack. ;_; It actually hurts to look back at this volume.
Note: all spoilers can be revealed by highlighting the text.
Pandora Hearts, #7 by Jun Mochizuki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Knowledge is, in short, power!! To know is the greatest joy!!!”
This volume is all about truth, whether in feelings, or information. It’s about the destruction of the illusions we treasure.
As a result, we see sides of characters that were only hints in previous volumes. Oz makes some powerful resolutions that end up causing more trouble for Gil than might be expected.
Because, you see, he’s Oz’s servant. And what does a servant do when he’s no longer needed?
Alice also realizes some things. Far from being a “romance” in the typical sense, her relationship with Oz has begun to deepen into a strong and amazing friendship. It’s an honest relationship, nothing hidden, and in the context of this story, that’s the most inspiring thing I’ve seen so far. I hope it ties in to Lady Sharon’s advice to Oz at the beginning of volume #1 to keep his friends close.
It’s also a direct contrast to Jack and Glen’s friendship, which starts out as something beneficial to both (at least that’s how it appears at this point). Needless to say, it doesn’t end well.
But the real star of this (in spite of the gorgeous Jack) is once again Break. We learn a lot about Break in this volume. Why? Because the Duke they go to see to get more information is Rufus Barma, and he’s all about getting the truth by whatever means necessary. But the truth he wants isn’t from Oz or Alice. It’s from Break’s past. His dark, despicable past, all done for a cause that seemed noble at the time. My heart ached so badly for him as I saw the reason for all his previous advice reveal itself. I also got to see why honesty with yourself is so important to him. In spite of what he did, he’s still my favorite character.
Other highlights in this volume:
* Jack is gorgeous! I swear, every time he shows up, I want to scan the images and put them on my wall. I don’t because my husband will make fun of me, as well he should. But there’s so many good images of Jack in this issue, including the cover, that I’m sorely tempted to at least make a desktop for my own viewing pleasure. I don’t think that’s too outrageous, is it?
* Sharon explaining romance to Alice using romance novels. It brought back a lot of memories of when I was sixteen and I devoured romantic illusions like they were cotton candy. Made me smile.
* I must mention this, but it’s a spoiler, so…I love having a name for Noble Break: Kevin Legnard. Jack is a gorgeous guy, but I have to admit that if I had a choice of dating Jack or pre-serial killer Kevin Legnard, it would be Kevin, hands down. Jack is a lovely daydream, but Kevin not only loved the family he served enough to kill for them (for what he thought was a good reason), he learned from his horrifying mistakes and survived, eventually turning into Xerxes Break, a man who will still sacrifice for his friends. Just not blindly anymore. Plus, the way Kevin’s drawn, he’s not half-bad in the looks department.
Still making that Jack desktop though.
* The information about some of the workings of the Abyss that the Intention gives Break.
* Alice and Duke Barma. Best. Speech. Ever.
If I say anything more there will definitely be spoilers. So, that’s it for now. Will review volume #8 soon.
Amy Keeley 